A preliminary version of the Emancipation Proclamation is released by Abraham Lincoln.

The Emancipation Proclamation, officially Proclamation 95, was a presidential proclamation and executive order issued by United States president Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War. The Proclamation changed the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved African Americans in the secessionist Confederate states from enslaved to free.

As soon as slaves escaped the control of their enslavers, either by fleeing to Union lines or through the advance of federal troops, they were permanently free. In addition, the Proclamation allowed for former slaves to "be received into the armed service of the United States". The Emancipation Proclamation played a significant part in the end of slavery in the United States.

Hand colored Emancipation The Past and the Future by Thomas Nast
Hand colored Emancipation The Past and the Future by Thomas Nast (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Emancipation Proclamation WDL2714
Emancipation Proclamation WDL2714 (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Abraham Lincoln O-77 matte collodion print (3x4 close cropped)
Abraham Lincoln O-77 matte collodion print (3x4 close cropped) (Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Brooklyn Museum - Abraham Lincoln - overall
Brooklyn Museum - Abraham Lincoln - overall (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Watch: Emancipation Proclamation: How The American Civil War Changed

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Sources and further reading: Wikipedia — Emancipation Proclamation, National Archives and Records Administration (CC BY-SA). Images: Wikimedia Commons.